Unraveling
by jadedmidnite
Summary: Claire travels to Ireland in order to learn more about her birth father and ends up running into someone from her past. Wait a minute, isn’t he supposed to be dead? Paire
1. Prologue

_**Title: **_Unraveling

_**Pairing:**_ Peter/Claire (Paire)

_**Summary:**_ Claire travels to Ireland in order to learn more about her birth father and ends up running into someone from her past. Wait a minute, isn't he supposed to be dead?

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Heroes, the characters, or anything associated with them. It's a shame though, because I can think of tons of awesome ideas pertaining to a Peter/Milo sandwich. ;)

_**A/N:**_ If you don't like this pairing then don't read my fic, it's as simple as that. Constructive criticism is welcome, but out right flames will be dismissed. _**(See my other A/N at the bottom of this posting if you'd like to gain some insight into this fic.) **_

_**Prologue:**_

Sometimes she missed him. Sometimes she missed him so much that she couldn't breathe. She knew it was wrong, not the missing him part, but the things she felt when she thought of him. Her feelings somehow managed to taint her memory of him. They made her memories into something sick and twisted, something _wrong_. It no longer mattered that he wasn't really her uncle because he'd died believing that he was. That just made the feelings that she subconsciously associated with him all the more wrong.

She played the game of what if all the time. What if he'd lived to find out about their faux relation? What if he'd allowed his feelings time to grow into something along the lines of what hers had? What if they'd had more time, more of anything at all? Sometimes she wished that they really were related, then maybe she'd be able to shove all of these silly fantasies out of her mind, because that's all they were, fantasies. She was pretty damn sure that that's all they'd ever be, even if he'd still been alive.

She'd be his niece again in a second if it meant that he would have been able to survive the explosion, that he would have been able to live out his destiny and be the hero that he'd always so desperately wanted to be. He was a hero though, even if he never really knew it. He was her hero. He'd saved her more times then she could count, and in the end, she liked to think that she'd saved him too, at least a little bit. That she'd helped him let go of some of the guilt, some of the unbearable load that he'd burdened himself with.

She still kept in touch with the Petrelli's. It didn't matter that they weren't blood, all that mattered was that they were the only ones that could even come close to feeling an ounce of what she felt. They were the only ones who really knew what it was like to loose Peter and why that was such a loss, not just for them, but for the world. Plus, she'd helped reunite them with their real family, with Nathan's real child. The child of his blood, even though he insisted that Claire would always be the child of his heart.

It all began because she was always willing to help a friend in need. She was so much like Peter in that way, not that she'd always been that way mind you. She'd wager almost anything that it was Peter's influence. She'd changed so much since he'd gone away, mostly for the better, at least concerning others, but it all took a hell of a toll on her own well being. She was still by far no saint, but she was ok with that. She now knew that perfect was overrated and that trying to achieve her ever constant goal of normality was basically insane. Normal was overrated too. Peter had shown her that one.

In the short time that they'd known each other Peter had taught her a lot, a lot more then even he knew. He'd shown her how to believe in something, even if you couldn't see it. To always strive for something great, something profound, to help those in need, and most importantly, to love. She knew it was horribly cliché, but she'd never known love, _real love_, until he'd come into her life. She knew it wasn't just an infatuation either. If that's what it was then it wouldn't hurt so bad now that he was no longer around. She wouldn't ache to the core of her very being. She wouldn't sometimes wish that she was dead too, just so she could be with him one more time.

Talk about teen angst, well, she had it in spades. Not that she was really a teen anymore. As of four months ago she was an official adult. Able to do anything legally, well, anything _legal _that is, except of course drinking, but she'd never been much of a drinker anyway. Certain events from her past had kind of put her off partying altogether.

Now here she was, angsty teen turned into an even angstier adult. It was finally her time to form her own little niche in the world, to explore it's beauty and pain, even though she'd already seen her fair share of both. She knew exactly where to start too. With the help of a new friend, if you counted a friend of the past two years new, she'd already started the footwork of her journey. She'd always been one of those people who finished what they set out to do and this was no exception.

Tomorrow would be the start of a whole new chapter in her life, because tomorrow she was off on a plane to her destiny and her past all wrapped up into what appeared to be one messy little package. She was finally going to get some answers, answers to things she'd been dying to know for the past year. Answers that she'd get no matter what it took.

She was finally going to find out more about her birth father, and her first stop was Cork, Ireland.

_**A/N 2: **_Ok, here are the things you need to know in order to understand this story. Claire is not, I repeat, is not a Petrelli. Everything that happened in Season 1 DID happen. After the finale, Claire's entire family had their memories changed by the Haitian and she went to live with Nathan and his family in New York. Claire went to her new school, which was in New York, and befriended West. They never became romantically involved, they just became really good friends. West eventually tells Claire that he was adopted too and they go off in search of his birth parents. What they find is rather shocking. West is Nathan's child, not Claire. Meredith is his mom and the house fire did happen, but West wasn't inside the house at the time. The Haitian, who was secretly working for Linderman, messed with Nathan, Meredith and Mrs. Petrelli's memories. Finding West's real parent's lead Claire on a search for her own. She ends up finding out who her real father is, but so far doesn't have any leads on who her real mother could be. Her real father is Claude. (Pretend that he's Irish, not English.) Nathan ended up hiring a private investigator to help Claire search for her fathers whereabouts. She doesn't have any luck in finding the man himself, but she does find out that he's from Cork, Ireland. It takes her a while to figure out what she wants to do with this information. She finally decides that she'll go to Ireland, after she graduates High School and before entering College, in order to find out more information about her real father. My story picks up from there. I don't want to give everything away so you'll find out the rest along the way. I might include some flashbacks, but I'm not too sure about that yet. Anyway, enjoy and be sure to review.

_**Diana**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1:**_

"I'm going to miss you _so _much." Claire said, squeezing West tight to her.

"Come on, it's not like we'll never see each other again. There's always postcards, mail, phone calls, email, instant messaging, texting and a huge other range of ways that we'll still be able to communicate with each other in this technology ridden age." West said smiling at Claire's semi-dramatic goodbye.

"I know," Claire said sighing. "It just won't be the same. I'm so used to seeing your ugly face everyday that it'll be hard to adjust to nothing but Irish hotties with accents." Claire said giggling a little at West's faux pained expression.

"Ah, you got me right here." West said placing his hands over his heart. "Shot down yet again." He said shaking his head, the amused expression never leaving his face.

"Oh, I'm really going to miss your sad attempt at humor." Claire said playfully rolling her eyes. She gave him one more quick squeeze and turned to the next person in line.

Looking at Nathan, her eyes teared up a little bit. Saying goodbye to him would be even harder. It almost felt like she was saying goodbye to Peter all over again. She cleared her throat and gave him a slightly shaky smile.

Squeezing him even tighter then she'd squeezed West, she took in the scent that was purely Nathan. Expensive cologne mixed with just the slightest hint of some flowery shampoo that he always insisted wasn't the least bit girly. Pure Nathan. Expensive and a little prissy, but surprisingly, totally lovable.

Nathan rolled his eyes skyward and cursed under his breath. "Don't even try to say goodbye to me Claire. Remember, just a few months and then you'd better come back home or else I'll go to your little backwoods Irish town and drag you off myself."

"Aww… you're such a softy Nat. Don't worry, I _do_ have to come back eventually in order to head off to college you know." Claire said smiling affectionately as she pulled away from his embrace.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." He said, his expression serious.

Claire looked away, slightly uncomfortable. He still insisted on her calling him dad, but with her secret little Peter obsession, that wasn't completely secret thanks to West, she felt kind of uncomfortable even thinking of him in that vicinity. Even though he'd pretty much been a dad to her for the past few years.

'Boarding call for flight I90, first class to Cork, Ireland, is now boarding.' A voice said over the loud speaker.

'Ah, saved by the plane.' Claire thought thankfully.

"I guess that's me. I really have to leave now, before you guys decide to tie me up and kidnap me to keep me from leaving."

"Don't think we wouldn't do it Bennet. I've got my eye on you." West said playfully.

She good-naturedly rolled her eyes at him and gave them both another quick hug each, before picking up her luggage and heading off to her boarding terminal. Right before she went to board the plane, she turned around and gave them both a little wave and one of her patent Claire smiles, then headed off to her destiny.

* * *

When Claire finally arrived in Cork, her first real thought was that it was a lot chillier then she'd anticipated. Her second thought was to turn around and get back on the plane. It wasn't that she didn't want answers, she was just scared of what those answers would be and how they could possibly change her life.

Sighing, she tightened her grip on her luggage and went in search of some type of transportation. Nathan had booked her a room in one of the best hotels that the town had to offer. Although, it was supposedly more of a bed and breakfast type establishment then anything. She'd tried to tell him that she would be ok and that she'd figure things out once she got there, but he had insisted. He said it was the least he could do since it would be months before he'd be able to get back to properly spoiling her. He also said that if she still felt uncomfortable about taking his money that she could view it as a graduation present. Taking Nathan's stubborn personalty into account, she politely accepted, knowing that he'd get his way one way or another.

She really was grateful for his intervention, since she had no idea how she'd pay for her entire stay. She always figured that she'd just get a small job and go from there. The whole job idea was something that she'd still look into, but it could take a while in a town this size.

She glanced around and spotted a lone cab across the street. It was pretty late at night, and while she was indestructible, there were things worse the death. She hurried over to the cab and knocked on the driver's side window. Her knock startled the man, who had been sleeping, and he looked around in bewilderment. When he finally looked her way she gave a little wave. He rolled down his window and gave her a blank look.

"Hi, do you happen to know where Moonduster Inn is?" She asked with a tired smile.

He blinked a few times until everything seemed to register. He opened his door and hoped out of the cab. "Sure I do. Sorry about that miss. Here, let me get your things."

"No, really. It's ok." She said making a move for the backseat.

He impatiently waved her hands away and grabbed her luggage. "I insist. Just hop on in the cab and I'll have you there in no time." Claire was too tired to argue any further so she gave her baggage to the cabbie and hopped in the backseat.

What seemed like moments later, she was jerked out of her state of semi-consciousness when the cab came to an abrupt stop. 'Wow, I must be even more tired then I originally thought.' Shaking her head, she asked the cab driver what the fair was, paid him and hopped out of the backseat. He followed her out of the cab and quickly retrieved her bags from the trunk.

"You have a good night now lass." He said tipping an imaginary hat in her direction.

Claire stifled a giggle and turned around to take in the hotel. It wasn't very big or fancy, but it had a pleasant homey feel to it. At that moment she could have cared less if it was a complete dive. She was just about ready to fall asleep on her feet.

She entered the place and walked up to the reception desk, waiting for the desk person to notice her. The girl at the desk looked up when Claire finally cleared her throat. "Name?" The girl asked in a bored tone of voice.

"Claire Bennet."

"Hmmm…" the girl hummed after a few moments. "I don't see a Claire Bennet anywhere in our system."

"It might be under Petrelli." Claire said after an awkward pause.

"Ah, yes. Here we go. Claire Petrelli, room 28." Claire signed in and took the key that the girl offered to her with a strained smile. It was such a Nathan move to make. She loved the guy, but his insistence that she was as much a part of the Petrelli family as ever was starting to get the slightest bit annoying.

When she arrived at her room, she was about to enter when the number on the door caught her eye. 28. That's how old Peter would have been if he was still alive. Her eyes started to fill with tears, but she determinedly blinked them back. She wouldn't cry, not here, not now. She needed to stop letting everything around her remind her of Peter. It had been two years since his accident and she should be over it by now. Well, she should at least be more over it then she currently was anyway. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and entered her room.

The place wasn't very spacious, but then again, neither was the rest of the facility. What it lacked in space, it made up for in character. There was a multicolored hand woven quilt on the Queen sized bed, a throw rug that seemed to match the quilt, a cherry wood desk with a small TV on it, a few amateur paintings on the walls and other little nick knacks here and there. She was thankful that she had her own private bathroom too, you never knew with these kind of establishments.

Claire decided that she liked the overall feel of the room. Satisfied with her lodgings, she closed the door and placed her luggage near the bed. She was far too tired to do much more then step out of her shoes and jeans, pull back the covers, hit the lights and hop on in bed, hopefully for a night of dreamless sleep.

_**A/N:**_ Don't worry, things will start to pick up in the next part. By the way, Moonduster Inn is an actual Inn in Cork. Since I've never been there before I have no idea what it's really like, but work with me here people. :) Oh, I also in no way, shape, or form, own Moonduster Inn. I hope all of you guys enjoyed, and don't forget to review. Speaking of reviews, thanks so much to those of you have reviewed so far.

Thanks goes out to crono (I promise that it won't be too long until they are reunited.), peternclairefan, IncandescentAngel and karanina (I'm glad that you like the whole "baby swapping" idea. You'll see what Claire finds in Cork soon enough.)

_**Diana**_


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2:_**

Claire woke up bright and early the next morning. She wasn't normally much of a morning person, but the anticipation of the day ahead left her hyper and not able to sleep a wink more. Jumping out of bed, she went off to take a shower and quickly got herself ready to face the day.

Humming a cherry note, she raced through her shower and finished in record time. Now came time for her clothing choice. She glanced out the window and frowned at the clouds in the sky. It seemed as if the day was already against her. Taking the current weather into consideration, she slipped on a pair of jeans and a short sleeved v-neck shirt, then decided to throw on a light knit pale blue sweater over her ensemble. If it got hotter later in the day she could just take the sweater off.

Moving back into the bathroom, she wiped a patch of the lingering steam off the mirror and went to work. She brushed her long hair until it fell past her shoulders in glimmering waves of golden waterfalls. After she was satisfied with her hair, she moved on to her makeup and applied a slight touch of mascara, some shiny lip-gloss and she was done. She figured since she had no where special to go that she shouldn't bother trying too hard. Unnecessary primping would only serve to waste what precious little time she had there.

Taking one final look at her reflection she grinned. She had to admit that she looked pretty good. Her cheeks had a slight flush to them even though she had yet to step outside and her eyes had a glimmer of their old sparkle in them. 'Today will be a good day for me. I can just feel it.' She thought as she gave her reflection one last grin, then moved back into her room. She shoved her few makeup supplies in her clutch bag, made sure she had her wallet, her room key and her cell phone, and was finally off to officially start her first day in Ireland.

* * *

Claire felt the slightest apprehension as she entered the old tavern in front of her. Like most things in this town, it was slightly run down, but had an almost homey old world charm to it. She adjusted her sweater and took a deep breath, trying to calm her frayed nerves. This tavern was supposedly owned by a good friend of her father's and she wanted to make a good first impression. Taking one last calming breath, she fully entered the room and glanced around.

The inside didn't fair much better then the outside, but something about it was still strangely welcoming. She moved over to a table and took a seat. Still glancing around the place, she noticed a dark haired young man who was tending the bar. He was filling a drink order, so he had his back to her, but there was something almost strangely familiar about him. Dismissing her thoughts since she couldn't possibly know anyone from here of all places, she smiled at the approaching waitress.

"'Ello there. What can I get you this fine mornin'?" The girl asked politely in her rather thick accent with a big toothy grin to match.

Claire thought about it for a moment before finally saying, "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Hmmm... usually I'd suggest the Irish Breakfast, which consists of bacon, eggs, sausage, black and white puddin', fried tomatoes and fried potato farls, but since you're an American, I'm not so sure you'd be able to handle all o' that."

Claire raised her eyebrows at the young girl in front of her, "It sounds wonderful. I think I'll have an order of that."

The girl raised a surprised eyebrow right back at her. "Ah, a brave one. You'll do well here." She said nodding her head in approval. "Anythin' else I can get you with that?"

"Just a coffee." Claire said with another dazzling smile.

"Ok, one Irish Breakfast and a coffee comin' right up." With that, the girl spun around and entered a door in the back that Claire assumed to be the kitchen.

The girl came back about ten minutes later with a heaping platter full of steaming food that looked surprisingly appetizing, well parts of it anyway, and a large coffee. She placed the food down in front of Claire and waited patiently by her side. Claire glanced over at the girls grinning face and quirked an eyebrow. This only seemed to make the girl's smile widen. Claire glanced back down at her food and took a big gulp. She could definitely eat, but this was more food then she was used to eating in a day alone.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her fork and speared a big chunk of the stranger looking stuff on her plate and slowly raised it toward her lips. Closing her eyes, she took a bite, waiting for the inevitable urge to gag, but it surprisingly didn't come. The stuff was actually pretty good. Claire opened her eyes and looked over at the girl in shock. The girl just gave her another grin and turned to get back to her other duties.

Claire dug into her food like she hadn't eaten in a week. When she was finally done, there wasn't much left on her plate, save for a few pieces of the black and white pudding. She drank the last of her coffee and sat back with a contented sigh. She was damn lucky that her regeneration skills gave her a fast metabolism, otherwise she'd probably be twice the size that she was by now.

Glancing around, she caught a glimpse of the waitress again and signaled her over. "How was it?" The girl asked as she took a look at Claire's basically empty plate.

Claire glanced up at her with a wide grin. "It was great."

After paying the girl for the food and leaving a tip, she asked in her most causal voice, "So, do you happen to know a Callum McGuinness?"

The girl stopped her movements and stared at Claire with a slightly strange expression. "Who wants to know?" She asked suspiciously.

"Tell him that Claude's daughter is asking for him." The girls eyes widened to an almost comedic level before she managed to stutter out, "His da... daughter?"

"Yeah, his daughter." Claire confirmed with an easy smile.

The girl took one last look at her and high tailed it back into the kitchen.

* * *

"So my daughter tells me that you're claimin' to be my long lost brother's child." A giant of a man asked a few minutes later, before sitting down across from her at the table.

"Your brother? Well, that's news." Claire said taking it all in. If what this man said was true, then he was her uncle and the girl who'd just served her breakfast was her cousin.

"My brother, aye. So, where is he? Did he send you down here to yank me chain?" The Irishman asked bemusedly.

Claire gave him a puzzled look. "I have no idea what you're talking about. In fact, I was hoping that you'd know where he was."

"Really now lass? Are you sure you're his daughter? You don't resemble his ugly mug in the least." Callum said giving her a scrutinizing once over.

Claire gritted her teeth in frustration. "I guess I look more like my mother then."

Her gave her another skeptical look. "You guess?"

"Yeah, I don't exactly know who my mother is."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Now how did that work out? You know who your pa is, but have no clue who your ma is."

"I was adopted." Claire dull panned.

His eyes widened a bit. "Oh, that'd explain it. My brother never really was one for bein' tied down."

Claire sighed in frustration. "Look, I came here to find out more about my fa... Claude, and I'd appreciate it if you'd help me out." She said between slightly clenched teeth.

An amused gleam came to his eyes. "I see that you've inherited your father's cheery disposition."

Claire forced a smile back. "I guess so. Although, it seems like you won't be of much help after all. Sorry to have disturbed you." She said as she stood up to leave.

"Nonsense. I may not know where my brother is, but I can help you out. Come now, let's have a drink and a nice chat over at the bar, yeah?"

Looking at his earnest expression, Claire gave a little smile. "Ok, I guess I can spare a few minutes."

She walked over to the bar with him and sat down at a stool. "Hey Pat, can you get my niece and me here a few brews?" He directed his question at the dark haired man behind the bar.

"Your niece, ey? Didn't know you had one of those." The lightly accented voice of the man behind the bar replied while he reached over to retrieve their beers. When he turned around to hand them their drinks, Claire's eyes widened in shock and her breath got caught in her throat. All she could manage to get out was one word, "Pe... Peter?"

**_A/N:_** What can I say? I absolutely adore cliff hangers. ::grins:: Ok, now let's get down to business. I'm really sorry that I didn't update sooner. I had this chapter done a week ago, yeah I know, but real life got in the way. I always proof everything I post a few times before I actually post it, but I didn't have the time until now. I'll try to get the next part out by this weekend. I won't have time to post anything tomorrow because I have a job interview in another town, wish me luck. :)

Once again, thanks to everyone who left reviews. If you've read this story up until this point and enjoy it but haven't reviewed yet, then feel free to do so now. I promise that I won't hold your lack of reviews against you. I know that sometimes you don't have the time, or simply don't feel like leaving a review, but even a short little something is welcomed and helps to keep me inspired.

Thanks to lovestoread, noro, jjpeachjuice, tearsfalldownmycheeks and snb123 for reviewing. (As for eternalgorithm, well, that hopefully answers your question, or does it?)

A little side note: I used me only when Callum was talking about himself and my for everything else _purposefully_. I've been trying to research Irish accents, especially Cork ones in particular, but there are _soooo_ many in Cork alone, so I just decided to use a lighter accent. I was going to use a thicker one at first, but after some research, I found out that Cork's accent is unlike many other accents from different parts of Ireland. Peter's will be even lighter since he only has a slight lilt. Ok, that's about it. Catch ya later.

_**Diana**_


End file.
